天花

tiānhuā
noun #22,255

Meanings

  1. 1 smallpox
  2. 2 ceiling (of a room)
  3. 3 decorative ceiling ornament

Examples

HSK 6
Tiānhuā yǐjīng bèi xiāomiè le.
Smallpox has already been eradicated.
HSK 7-9
Zhè zuò gōngdiàn de tiānhuā zhuāngshì shífēn jīngměi.
The ceiling ornaments of this palace are exquisitely beautiful.

Tips

usage
天花 has two distinct meanings: (1) smallpox, eradicated globally in 1980; (2) a decorative ceiling in traditional Chinese architecture (天花板 = ceiling). Context makes the meaning clear.
memory
(sky/heaven) + (flower): the skin lesions of smallpox were likened to flowers from heaven, giving the disease its poetic but grim name.

Stroke Order

tiān
huā